Kitty Crenshaw's Blog, page 26

August 31

Will you trust that in the experience of your change and loss, you are being prepared for a deeper love? ~Betty

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Joy in the Light of God

Betty Skinner, the inspiration for The Hidden Life Awakened, shares a story of finding a beautiful red camellia flower, that had emerged from a neglected bush. From the shade and neglect, the flower grew toward the light.

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August 27

Knee bent and full of wonder, might we find every place a place full of God’s simplicity, love, and delight. ~Betty

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August 24

So, we continue to come to the deep silence of listening prayer to hear the Beloved’s voice say, “I created you this way. Your life is an offering and I am giving you the opportunity now to live it for others.”~Betty

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A Letter from Betty

Dear Ones,

Why, I often wonder, do we hold so fast to temporal things when once we let them go God’s gifts can begin to remake and shape our lives? Those of us who truly believe and hold fast to Him in hope must begin to let go of the temporal and move towards the eternal. To let go of the need to be with people and be alone with God. To let go of so much talking on the phone and talk to God. To let go of so much reading and silently ponder, wonder, press deep inside what God would have us know of what we have already read but as yet don’t really know. To begin to view the stained glass windows from within, we must run to Him in solitude and silence.

“Come,” He softly says, “Please choose me. Come and learn. Come and follow. Come and abide.”

Alone time can be difficult, but I have learned over the decades that it is in the desert of our hearts that His living water starts to flow and cleanse us to His glory that others might know and love Him too. If God is calling you-and God is always calling and coming to you-seek to understand how He is coming to you in every trial and be grateful and obedient to what you hear.

If I were truly free-free of flesh-perhaps I could give expression to all there is deep inside of me struggling for utterance, and perhaps I could teach you more. I so long for you to know more intimately the Source of all Love and wisdom, but this is God’s work; I am simply His servant. If this letter, these few words, could be no more to you than hope and encouragement, then prayerfully in His time and by His spirit they will transmute you with His love and His wisdom.

Finally, may we continue to pray for one another. For when we pray for one another, we become one another for a moment and together we are found by the Divine love.

In His love which holds the whole of humanity in a compassionate embrace. ~Betty

 

 

 

 

 

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August 20

It takes courage to claim the simplicity of trust, but this is our path to balance and wholeness. ~Betty

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August 17

As we return again and again to the Source to help us find our way, our perceptions slowly begin to change, and everything around us begins to change. ~Betty

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Creating for Love

How long has it been since you have carved out space in your busy schedule to simply create? Whether painting, gardening, playing music, making pottery, or writing poetry…the possibilities are endless. It matters not how skilled or talented you think you are, so don’t get entrapped by the so-called standards of the world. You have been created with unique gifts that God has ordained for purposes far greater than you realize.

We create simply for Love. By Him, for Him, through Him, and with Him, our Creator God. Find something that is uniquely yours, lose yourself in it, and find Him there.

When we tend to this creative spirit within us, we find ourselves becoming more joyful, more grateful, more free. We find our unique God-created selves. We catch a glimpse of Eternity.

As we paint, we pray. As we garden, we bow. As we write, we breathe. Our creativity wells up within us when we meet our Creator in the world around us. We take Him in and we let Him out. We follow His leading and we surrender to the process. And we find ourselves healing and becoming whole. 

Betty describes her own creative journey in our book, The Hidden Life Awakened:

“I had allowed my compulsions and fears of what people might think to block my creativity. As I was able to let go of all that and allow the Holy Spirit to re-create me, the possibility of unlimited creativity could flow. Creativity is that which was in me that was a gift but, in my case, had not been offered because of the fearful limitations I had put on myself. Open heart, open mind. As I opened to the One who created me in love and longed to re-create me in mercy, I discovered the gifts that God had given me for His purposes… I was simply trying to add my little unique piece to the mosaic that was building the kingdom of God. The gift that this brought with it was the wonderful feeling of freedom. Those moments when I was most creative brought me into deeper communion with God because I was free of myself just for a little while, and expressing what I sensed about God. Creativity was very, very healing for me, particularly in working out of my depression.”

Be encouraged, dear ones: To press in to the Source. To pursue deep healing. To foster your God-given creativity.

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August 13

Our work is to come to prayer to receive the Love and then to offer it to the hungry hearts of others. ~Betty

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August 10

This world is the place of our purification and transformation, so rather than be depressed about it, lost in it, or fearful of it, see it as Love calling you to a higher place. ~Betty

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